Urgent Request for Support | For far too long, vital medicines for the health of people living with HIV have been missing from Romanian hospitals.  The Ministry of Health has finally promised a solution to this situation by the end of October; in the meantime, patients are forced to seek support from NGOs and the international community.

As a result of a lack of funds allocated to HIV medication by the Ministry of Health, and a budget rectification postponed for too long, hospitals have been unable to purchase vital medication. Since August, several hospitals in Romania have faced a lack, or complete absence, of HIV medication. In Bucharest, two of the largest hospitals have been forced to give anti-retroviral treatment (ART) medication for only a week, instead of a month, due to low stocks. Other hospitals in the country are also completely out of drugs, and this has an extremely negative impact on those living with HIV.

Hospitals marked in red have been reported by patients living with HIV has having shortages of ART drugs.
Those in yellow have been reported at least once. Source: Tratament ARV, 22nd  of September, 2021.

On 13 August, 2021, members of the LGBTQI community, as well as organizations in the field of drug use and HIV/AIDS, participated in a protest in front of the Ministry of Health. After an ad-hoc meeting, the Health Minister, Ioana Mihaila, compromised by adopting a Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS by the end of October.

Despite these promises, the community of people living with HIV in Romania is experiencing an urgent need of support. The current situation endangers the lives of people living with HIV. ART drugs keep people alive and well. Those who start drug treatment, however, have to stay on the drugs; if they don’t, the virus in their body evolves into a drug-resistant strain, putting them at further risk of not being able to use their personalized treatment scheme. As a result, patients must be re-evaluated, other (and often more expensive) drugs may be necessary, and they face the additional risk of their bodies not accepting the new treatment.

Contrary to the trend across Europe, Romania, particularly its capital, Bucharest, has seen a drastic increase in HIV infection rates in the last decade.  This is fuelled by the use of synthetic drugs and the lack of adequate harm reduction services.

Absence of drugs, an endemic situation in Romania
This is not a new situation; limited access to treatment, reduced stocks or absence of medicines is a recurrent problem for people living with HIV in Romania.  In the absence of a national program that can cover the costs of HIV treatment throughout the year, the authorities offer improvised solutions, and hospitals have become accustomed to borrowing drugs from each other when they are gone. Tratament ART, the national platform for monitoring access of people living with HIV in Romania to medicines, has been reporting on similar cases in hospitals for some time. Alongside this, the EU HIV/HCV/TB Civil Society Forum and different local NGOs have been urging the Romanian government for more than a decade to take steps to ensure sufficient drug supply.

Support for the community left without medication
Ana Mohr, representative of MozaiQ, points out that the LGTBQI community is among the hardest affected, and that people living with HIV are facing a more pressing situation by the day.  Within this context, national and international NGOs in Romania are urgently collecting medicines from international donations, other NGOs, doctors, and activists from all over Europe.

Currently, there is a high need for the following drugs: Lamivudine/ Abracavir (Kivexa), Tenofovir/emtricitabine (Truvada), Reyataz, Genvoya, Dovato, Tivicay, Triumeq, Lamivudine/emtricitabine, Lamivudine/zidovudine (Combivir), Dolutegravir, Efavirenz

If you, your colleagues or contacts, have access to one or more of the above drugs and can share them, MozaiQ will be very grateful.  You can send them to their office for further distribution.

More information:
https://www.libertatea.ro/stiri/de-ce-au-ramas-spitalele-din-romania-cu-un-stoc-redus-de-medicamente-pentru-pacienii-hiv-3732218
https://romania.europalibera.org/a/romania-hiv-lipsa-medicamente/31444527.html

Contact:
mozaiqlgbt@gmail.com